Country Reports on Terrorism 2011 - Tajikistan

United States Department of State, Country Reports on Terrorism 2011 - Tajikistan, 31 July 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/501fbc9d32.html [accessed 10 December 2016]

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Overview: In 2011, Tajikistan corrected weaknesses in its counterterrorism strategy and demonstrated its ability to conduct effective counterterrorism operations. Tajikistan's counterterrorism policies focused on marginalizing radical Islamist elements and on increasing the capacity of Tajikistan's military and law enforcement community to conduct tactical operations through bilateral and multilateral assistance programs. However, government policies sometimes targeted the peaceful practice of religion and resulted in violations of the human rights of citizens, including freedom of religion and association.

Legislation and Law Enforcement: There have been many successful prosecutions under the Law on Combating Terrorism. However, a corrupt judicial system and misuse of counterterrorism statutes to suppress legitimate political opposition hampered the effectiveness of the government's counterterrorism efforts.

While Tajikistan made progress in improving border security with bilateral and multilateral assistance, the challenge of effectively policing the remote and rugged border with Afghanistan continued to exceed the capabilities of the government.

Law Enforcement Actions:

On January 4, former opposition commanders Ali Bedaki Davlatov and several of his supporters were captured. Davlatov and another former commander, Mullo Abdullo, reportedly commanded a contingent of foreign and Tajik fighters that had slipped into Tajikistan from Afghanistan to exploit anti-government sentiment and conduct attacks. Local press reported that Bedaki was killed by government forces on January 4, 2011.

On April 15, government forces killed Mullo Abdullo (Abdullo Rahimov) and several of his supporters in Gharm. Tajikistan continued to participate in the Department of State's Antiterrorism Assistance program.

Countering Terrorist Finance: Tajikistan is a member of the Eurasian Group on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. Tajikistan's terrorist finance laws were not comprehensive and did not meet international standards. The government participated in the FATF International Cooperation Review Group process, which resulted in an Action Plan. By year's end, Tajikistan had not implemented the Action Plan or otherwise resolved identified deficiencies.

Tajikistan's inadequate criminalization of money laundering and terrorist financing and its inability to effectively identify and investigate suspicious transactions was of concern. Anti-money laundering and counterterrorist finance deficiencies included: inadequate criminalization of money laundering, inadequate procedures for confiscation of criminal proceeds, lack of requirements for comprehensive customer due diligence, lack of adequate record keeping, and the lack of an effective Financial Intelligence Unit.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, we refer you to the 2011 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Regional and International Cooperation: Tajikistan participated in regional counterterrorism exercises with Shanghai Cooperation Organization partner nations in September. Through its field mission in Dushanbe, the Organization of Security Cooperation in Europe worked with the Government of Tajikistan on programs to counter violent extremism, border security, and police reform projects during 2011.

Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism: Stemming violent extremism and radicalization was a top priority for the Tajik government. Many of the government's measures, however, restricted basic religious freedom. Critics claimed that these heavy-handed government tactics, by driving the practice of religion underground, could ultimately contribute to the growth of violent extremism. We refer you to the Department of State's Annual Report to Congress on International Religious Freedom (http://www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/index.htm) for further information.

State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs successfully implemented its Community Policing Initiative in numerous Tajik communities, which is designed to improve police-civilian relations and reduce the appeal of extremist groups.